A Lost Love
by The Perfect Fit
Summary: Isadora and her twin brother Duncan are dead and Violet, Quigley and Sunny are missing. While mourning over the loss of his one true love, can Klaus bring himself to try and find the others? R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Klaus didn't have dreams. Not since the fire. His sleep was no longer peaceful because just beneath the surface of his slumber lay the ominous stench of the following day. Of waking up to the world.

A world without love.

A world without hope.

A world without her.

It was yet another fire. Another mysterious fire that had stolen her away. It was no accident, Klaus knew. But why? Why? What harm had she ever done to anyone? Who could, in good conscience, purposefully harm Isadora Quagmire?

Klaus took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Sleep did not come. She was there now. And she wasn't leaving. He could almost picture that night on the lake.

_The moon's reflection shone on the waters of the lake creating an eerie light that was strangely comforting among two seventeen year olds trying to confess the same thing. _

"_Uh, Klaus?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Why did you take me here?"_

_Klaus paused, considering his lover's question. It was so hard for him to think straight and look at Isadora at the same time. She was so beautiful and majestic. He could look at her forever. She giggled and snuggled closer to him as the wind picked up. He smiled. She was the only one left to make him happy._

"_Isadora?"_

_She smiled knowingly. "Yes?"_

"_I love you." _

"_Of course you do." She pulled him even closer and pressed her lips against his. _

Klaus hated crying. The tears felt like burning acid slowing pouring down his cheeks. It was humiliating. He felt like a helpless child again. He wished he was a child again. He could scarcely remember a time when things were perfect. Sometimes he wondered if there were some people who actually led perfect lives. Was perfection a myth? No. No it wasn't. She was perfection.

_In her bright red sundress and lime green flip flips, Isadora Quagmire was perfection itself. Her long dark hair was in two french braids that bounced around her head as she walked. Her lips looked so beautiful as they parted to reveal her perfect white teeth. She was perfect. And she was his. _

_Klaus looped one arm around Isadora's shoulder and she smiled at him. He had no idea why he had called her to see him. She must have seen the puzzled look on his face because she spoke up. _

"_What is it?" _

"_Isadora . . . do you love me?"_

_Isadora was surprised by the question and he was about to apologize when she gently placed a hand over his mouth. "Don't be sorry. I love you Klaus. With all my heart." _


	2. Chapter 2

Klaus could see the first rays of sunlight shining through the ebony curtains hanging over his bedroom window. The day was beginning. He rolled over and pulled the covers over his head. He knew he couldn't hide forever, that the frightening world lay just outside the temporary sanctuary of his dark blue bed sheets. He was just about to sink back into miserable slumber when the piercing voice of his laptop computer broke the painfully long silence.

"_You've got mail."_

Klaus blinked and sat up. He hadn't received an email since . . . well since Isadora and Duncan were killed. He got up and made his way across the room to the computer sitting on a small metal desk with a chair navy blue chair in front of it. His bedroom was made up of different shades of blue. Dark blue. He sat down and sure enough the tiny purple mailbox in the left hand corner of the screen held a golden envelope. Klaus double clicked on it and opened an email with no specified title. He didn't recognize the email address of the sender.

_Klaus Baudelaire,_

_I alone know what you want to find and where you can find it. I have known you since before you were born and I can help you. I know where Violet and Sunny are hidden. I am searching for Quigley still, and I can only hope for the best. You have five days to send an email reply to the given address with your hometown and your middle name. This will give me confirmation that you have accepted my help. After this we can entertain civilized conversations. You are thier only hope. You must reply to this email as soon as possible if you want to see them again. _


	3. Chapter 3

At first Klaus was sure it was a joke. But then he remembered that he had never told anyone that they were missing. There was no one to tell. He was alone. A strong fear embraced him as he realized that if it wasn't a joke there was someone out there who knew about everything.

Someone who knew where Violet and Sunny were. His sisters. His family.

It would be foolish to ignore this opportunity.

But if it was a joke . . .

And he fell for it . . .

What would happen then?

The sound of the phone ring broke his train of thought. He picked it up before the second ring.

"Hello?" Klaus's voice was hoarse from being silent so long.

"Hi, I was wondering if you could please reserve a copy of _Blood and Chocolate _for Meredith Stevens?"

Thoughts about the email he had received the previous day had apparently taken him away from his work at the library. He hesitated before answering. "Um, sure. Absolutely."

"Thank you so much."

"No problem. Have a good day."

"You too." Klaus waited for the click on the other line and then hung up the phone. He always waited for the person on the other line to hang up. Always.

_Klaus was so excited. He had just been hired as the head librarian for The Evanston Public Library. He loved the idea of sitting in a library all day, being immersed in the smells and the feel of it all. He had grown up in his parent's library, and had read nearly all of the books it had contained. He read Black Beauty at the age of seven and Les Miserables at ten. And now as he sat taking his lunch break at his desk on his very first day, he was so involved in his thoughts that he jumped out of his chair when the phone rang._

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey stranger," said a familiar voice on the other line._

"_Hey," Klaus replied, wondering what she was wearing. _

"_So watcha doing?" Isadora asked._

"_Eating," Klaus paused, "thinking 'bout you."_

"_Is that so?" Her voice was challenging and flirty. "Well guess what? Same."_

_Klaus smiled. "I thought so." _

_Klaus could hear the smile in her voice. "Well I gotta go."_

_Klaus tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "Ok. Bye." He waited for a click but heard none. "Isadora?"_

_He could hear her laughing on the other end. "I always wait."_

"_Me too." Klaus smiled and laughed. "All right, one, two, three." He slammed the phone down, laughing so hard his ribs hurt. _

Tears ran down his cheeks as he knelt down on the floor and pretended to pick up a pen. He used his navy blue shirt sleeves to wipe his eyes and sat back up on his chair. _Better go find that book,_ Klaus thought standing up and making his way to the Young Adult section. His older sister had read _Blood and Chocolate_ so he knew where it was in the library. He tried not to think about Isadora as he made his way up the last flight of stairs to the fourth floor of the library.

The Young Adult section took up the whole fourth floor of the library. But Klaus remembered where the book was. Violet had checked out_ Blood and Chocolate_ so many times that the librarian, Mrs. Lewis insisted that she take it and not bring it back. Mrs. Lewis was nice. Klaus had liked her a lot before she passed away. It seemed like everyone he cared about was disappearing.

_Here it is,_ Klaus thought, _Blood and Chocolate._ The was something in the book separating the pages. Klaus opened it and pulled out a slip of paper.

_Four more days. Hurry Klaus time is running out. Each day that passes is another day that your two sisters remain missing, isolated from the world. Gone. _

Hands shaking, Klaus slipped the piece of paper into his pocket and headed downstairs with the book in his hand. How had the person known . . . was Meredith Stevens the pursuer?


End file.
